A Challenge
by morning-flower
Summary: A lighthearted romancehumor between HGDM. It's intelligent, and well written because I hate bad grammar and spelling! Have a look, and if so inclined, leave me a comment :
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_Alright, I'm back again with a stern resolution to finish this story in less than a few years! This story will be set… just before _The Goblet of Fire _because I don't want intricate themes of good and evil fighting taking precedence in this story. It's going to be a DM/HG, and mildly funny. Other minor evil characters may be chucked in, but I'll stick to real characters as much as I can because I hate Mary Sues (characters fan fiction writers invent and make sickeningly perfect etc)._

Draco leant back in his favourite chair in the Slytherin common room and just looked at the idiot before him.

"So why'd you break the sink again, Goyle?" He asked the oaf before him.

"The tap wouldn't run." The boy managed. He scratched the side of his nose and something across the room managed to catch his attention.

"And your only solution was to smash the sink?" Draco demanded.

"Er- what?"

"You broke a sink, Goyle." Draco repeated, exasperation warring with boiling anger for effect.

"When?"

Draco's jaw, dropped as he realised he was fighting a losing battle; just his luck perhaps, that Crabbe and Goyle had found themselves in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom that day. They'd tried to use the one sink that never worked (perhaps because it was a _portal_ which lead down to the dead Basilisk's chamber) and instead of leaving it and trying another sink, they'd broken it; conveniently ruining the opening to the portal.

"Are you going down to dinner, Draco?" Goyle asked.

"Why?" The young man in question demanded.

"Because it's quarter to and I'm hungry."

"Feel free to leave then!"

Draco ran a hand through his platinum hair and sighed. He'd wanted to go down into the _Chamber of Secrets_ to check it out but now there was no way he could! Frankly, his father dealt in many illegal goods and Draco had figured there would be boundless of them down there. Just because goody-good Harry Potter hadn't bothered to check out any hidden nooks and crannies didn't mean they didn't exist. But now those two great oafs had mucked things up!

"What are you looking so anti about?" Blaise demanded as he crashed into a seat across from Draco. Draco peered out through his fingers to scowl even more so and managed to elicit a laugh from the dark haired boy.

"You know very well what I'm thinking about! I talked to you about it yesterday! M.A.G.I.C.A.L G.O.O.D.S! _Magical goods! _Illegal one's to be exact. God Blaise, were you born yesterday?"

"Are you done?"

"Why?"

"I have something to ask you."

"Yes?"

"You know Granger, right?"

"No Blaise, I've spent so many years at this school only to live in a self centered bubble; hell, I don't even notice people I go out of my way to insult daily."

"Well she's that on with the bushy hair who hangs out with-"

"I know who she is!"

"Oh, well, you know how she's in my Muggle Studies class?"

This was going nowhere. Draco sighed and rolled his eyes back, "get to the point Blaise!"

"I think I'm rather attracted to her."

"You _think_? Thank god you're not _sure_ then."

"Hang on, I am sure though, Draco!" Blaise glared at him.

"You expect me to encourage this?" Draco demanded.

"Well the only reason I can see for you to not, is that you like her." Blaise executed with pristine logic.

"What? You- what?"

"I knew it, well, I'm going to get her in the end! What kind of friend are you?" He directed a surly glare at the white-haired boy and was off, out the portrait-hole for dinner. Draco blinked at the direction he'd gone then pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Oh well, at least it was an interesting start to the first term.

…

"What?" Hermione demanded, for the umpteenth time. Ron flushed red and babbled something under his breath and would've floundered if it wasn't for Harry.

"Ron found your notebook under the common room table." He said flippantly, and chucked the book in question upon the table they were seated at in the Great Hall. Hermione blinked at it and sat down, casting an odd look at Ron.

"'Cause I thought you'd miss it!" Ron blurted out. "Since you uh, use it, and uh, stuff."

"Well thanks Ron." Hermione smiled, and stowed it against the salt and pepper shakers. A familiar blonde boy entered the hall and Ron scowled.

"Bloody hell, even from a distance he's still a git."

"Oh can't you try to not fight with him for at least a week?" Hermione pleaded, not really paying attention however for at this instant she noticed a certain Zabini staring intently at her from across the room. "Do you see how he's looking at me?" She demanded, nudging Harry.

"Hmm?" The boy-who-lived asked, looking up as Zabini glanced away. He noticed nothing amiss and shrugged at her.

"So, uh, how were your holidays Hermione?" Ron asked, flushing bright red. She looked at him with a blank expression.

"They were fine. I was staying with you, remember?"

"Oh of course I do, I, uh, Harry?" Ron seemed desperate to salvage the conversation.

"What he meant was the week _before_ you came to stay, Hermione." Harry piped up.

"Oh. Well, it was fine. I read mostly."

"Oh that sounds fun! Yeah…" Ron trailed off and looked across the room to see Blaise staring at something by him; he turned his head to follow the gaze and his own fell upon Hermione. "Hermione!"

"What?" She asked, looking up and seeing Blaise staring at her, dropped her napkin she'd been fiddling with and knocked Harry's elbow.

"What is up with you two today?" Harry demanded, glaring at his two friends before a realization hit him. "Oh… _oh_!"

"What?" Hermione demanded, tearing her suspicious gaze away from Zabini.

"I'm going to go sit with uh, Neville." Harry decided quickly, winking rather obviously at Ron. The red-haired boy went beetroot and muttered an oath at Harry but he didn't catch it, and Hermione glared at the Slytherin table.

"For someone who told me not to pick a fight with him, you seem to be glaring at Malfoy rather a lot." Ron complained. Hermione harrumphed.

"Well you saw for yourself that Blaise was staring at me. They're up to something, they must be!"

"Why is Harry staring at us?" Ron demanded.

…

"I mean, just look at the way the light falls on her hair." Blaise said in the exact same tone one would normally discuss Quidditch. "I mean, it's like Michael Angelo's paintings; she's so angel-like it scares me."

"You're going to make me throw up." Draco said sourly.

"But you have to admit her eyes, well, they seem to glow even from here.""If you ask me, I'd say she was glaring at you." Draco pointed out.

"She's so cute when she does that." Blaise popped a chunk of meat into his mouth and chewed slowly, watching Hermione as he did this. It seemed to unnerve her.

"Why don't you go out with Pansy?" Draco suggested. He immediately regretted uttering the name.

"Dracky-poo! I heard you talking about me!" A buxom blonde girl resembling a cherub, and not a very attractive one, squealed. She shoved a third year beside him roughly to the side and squeezed in next to Draco at the table and began to pile her golden plate up with an immense amount of food, pulling her sweater down to cover her plump stomach.

"Actually it was Blaise." Draco attempted to save the situation.

"No it wasn't, I'd recognise your voice anywhere. Have you been enjoying the first week of school? Pity we got paired with the Gryffindor's for most of our double classes! Potter's still as ugly as ever." She didn't notice Blaise choke on his steak and instead shoveled a mouthful of mashed spuds into her mouth. "And that Granger, god she's ugly, I mean, what is wrong with her hair?"

"What was that?" Blaise asked in a cool tone.

"Hmm?" Pansy asked, oblivious.

"What did you say about Hermione?"

"I can't remember." She flushed an unattractive shade of pink and Draco dove to save the situation once more.

"Blaise! Remember that thing I had to talk to you about? Yes, that one! Let's go!" He got up from the table and dragged the dark-haired boy off, ignoring Pansy's protests as he exited the Great Hall.

…

"And then I dove for the snitch and caught it! Though, it was just an apple because we didn't have the actual snitch, but dad was down below us making it swerve all over the place with his wand…" Ron barely paused for breath and Hermione idly considered propping her eyes open with her knife and fork. She'd heard this Quidditch story before; well, maybe not this one, but they didn't sound much different, and Ron wasn't showing any sign of stopping. Suddenly Harry plopped into a seat beside them at the Great Hall Gryffindor table.

"Are you going to eat that?" He asked Hermione, pointing to her black pudding. She pulled a face and shook her head no, so he stuck it in his mouth and swiftly became enthralled in Ron's Quidditch story. Hermione chose that point to leave.

She left the Great Hall with her eyes turned to the rest of her table so it was no surprise she ran straight into someone standing out in the corridor. She spun around in fright to see the last person she wanted to- perhaps because of his recent behaviour at dinner.

"Zabini!" Hermione squealed in fright, backing away slightly and immediately narrowing her eyes at the Slytherin boy, "what do you want?"

"Enjoy your dinner?" He asked, but in a completely nonchalant tone. She gaped at him and then the idea dawned on her,

"You poisoned it!"

"Did I?" He thought back and then shook his head. "No, you're mistaken. Enjoying your first week back?"

"Why?"

"Why not?" He seemed greatly taken aback by her unwillingness to participate in a conversation with him. Hermione began to back away to the staircase.

"I have to go…" She began,

"Wait,"

"No!" Hermione blurted, and took off in the opposite direction. Blaise watched her go with a pout and Draco doubled over in laughter in a nearby niche in the wall.

"Smooth Blaise, really smooth!" He called out to the scorned boy. Blaise made a rude sign at him and shook his hair back, mustering the remains of his dignity.

"Well you see you have competition, Draco." Blaise glared at him. "And if she is that unwilling to talk to me, a mere Slytherin, imagine what she will be like with you!"

"Are you saying that Granger is too much of a challenge for me?" The white-haired boy inquired with a raised eyebrow. His brain began to work overtime.

"No I'm not! I'm merely pointing out that I have a far bigger chance with her than you do! Just look at the facts!" Blaise stared into space for a moment and sighed. "She has the most beautiful lips. I must go and write down exactly how I feel about them." He set off in long strides down the corridor and Draco didn't know whether to laugh, or to cry that his best friend was acting like such a lunatic.

"Doesn't say I have a chance, well, I'll just show him…" He muttered under his breath, walking along the corridor leading to library and looking up as he heard soft footfalls. Hermione stopped short as she spotted him and scowled.

"Talking to yourself now, ferret?" She spat, and made to push past him but he moved into her path.

"That wasn't very nice Granger," a sneer spread over his face, "you should learn how to treat your-" he stopped short of saying _superiors_, "-people around you better." He finished with. She took a double take and then resumed her hostile demeanor.

"I don't know what you've got up your sleeve Malfoy but you best drop it now." She shoved past him and he turned to watch her go; scowling, but now determined to prove Blaise wrong.

…

Hermione walked into the library and angrily pulled a couple of books she needed from a shelf and sat down to study them intently. Soon however, her mind wandered off its task and she thought back to dinner and the odd behaviour of two resident Slytherins. They were obviously up to something, and she didn't like the smell of it.

"What're you up to 'Mione?" Harry asked, snapping her out of her reverie and crashing into a seat, Ron following close behind. She rolled her eyes at them and slammed her book shut, leaning towards them over it.

"Malfoy and Zabini are up to something. They _both_ came up and tried to start talking to me about something before. Don't you think it seems like they're trying to get to you through me, Harry?"

"About what, though?"

"Well Dumbledore has been talking to you a lot lately, hasn't he?"

"Oh, but that's just general stuff, you know, about Sirius and… yeah."

"Oh well that doesn't explain anything. Ron? What do you think?" She turned to look at him expectantly and he flushed bright red. "Are you feeling okay Ron?"

"Mmm… uh, oh would you look at the time, I forgot… see you!" He got up from the table and vanished in a few seconds, leaving Harry and Hermione to gape at each other.

"Do you know what his problem is?" A bewildered Hermione demanded. Harry almost choked and shook his head no, and then glanced at the wind up clock on the other end of the library and also made his excuses to leave. An exasperated Hermione sighed, and reopened her book.

…

"Do you think she'd respond positively to flowers?" Blaise mused aloud to Draco that night in the common room. He hadn't seemed to grasp that your nemeses was the worst choice of person to discuss intimate matters with, but Blaise was a unique sort so Draco didn't find this bizarre. Draco shrugged and made a mental note to copy whatever the dark-haired boy tried.

"Have you done that Potion's essay?" He asked Blaise, receiving no answer whatsoever.

"Roses are nice, but they're old fashioned. What about sunflowers?"

"Did you do the essay?"

"Draco! I'm trying to make a decision here!" Blaise sighed and scribbled out a note in his diary and chewed the top of his quill. "Roses are attractive though. Oh! I could write a note!"

"Have you done the essay?" Draco asked once more.

"Yes! Now be quiet. Hmm… a dozen, or a single one?"

…

Hermione joined Ron and Harry at the Great Hall breakfast table the next morning and shook back her hair as she reached for the milk jug.

"Did you think of anything Draco might be wanting to know about?" She asked as she poured some over her cereal. Harry shook her head and she sighed, accidentally brushing her arm against Ron's and eliciting a gasp from the boy.

"Bloody hell Hermione!" He complained, flushing red and sliding away a bit. "Don't surprise me like that!"

"Oh, the mail's here." Harry noticed. Hermione ignored the flight of birds apart from reaching up to catch her Daily Prophet, so was completely caught unexpected when a single rose came and landed in her pumpkin juice. However, the rest of the table was also caught off-guard as a massive bouquet then fell upon her place-setting, slashing her cereal everywhere and covering her in a mess of pumpkin juice; completely smothering the single rose from view.

Hermione wiped a cornflake from her eye and blinked at the mess of flowers before her; the arrangement being rather pretty when you discounted the cereal coating a large portion of it.

"Who sent those?" Ron asked in an awe-filled tone. Hermione dug through it (receiving a few scratches from stray thorns) and finally emerged with a sopping wet card which read: _The light shining on you reminds me of Michael Angelo's paintings. D.M_

"Oh my god!" Hermione shrieked, leaping up from her seat and flinging the card upon the table. "That's from Malfoy!" She added in a hiss to Ron and Harry; they exchanged a meaningful look and then Harry levitated the flowers with his wand as Hermione attempted to clear the mess off the table; doing this she discovered the single rose which was a different type from the bouquet, and saw the additional card: _Better than a sunflower? B.Z_

"Who's that one from?" Harry asked, noticing the new rose. Hermione flushed red and waved the card before his face.

"This one is from Zabini!" She hissed. "Now do you believe they're up to something?"

…

Blaise let out an obvious sigh as he watched Hermione dash from the Great Hall with his single rose in her hand, and Potter and Weasley following with the levitating bouquet sent by Draco.

"Is it just me, or do Potter and Weasley look absolutely ridiculous today?" Draco mused, taking a swig of pumpkin juice.

"You don't understand Draco, it's the simple gestures that mean more; not simply smothering people with extravagant _gestures_." Blaise scowled. "That cereal went everywhere, and I was enjoying watching her eat it!"

"You're a git, you know that?" Draco shot at his friend, and slammed his goblet on the table. "Why isn't she falling for me?" He demanded.

"It's because you don't know how to seduce a lady!" Blaise informed him haughtily. Draco sighed and buried his head in his hands, because now this was getting too ridiculous for even him to appreciate.

…

Hermione held her hand up to cover the side of her face as she felt Zabini's gaze boring into her head_ once more_ during Muggle Studies.

"Who can name the product the Muggles invented which we would normally use a broomstick for today?" The teacher asked the sparse class. Hermione went to raise her hand but was cut off by the over-exuberant Zabini intent on impressing her.

"The train!" He informed the teacher with a bright smile, only to be rewarded with a shake of the head.

"The plane." Hermione called out, willing the Slytherin to disappear in a cloud of smoke. He failed to do so, and a scrunched up ball of paper hit her in the head, fell upon the floor looking a little dazed, and then sprouted wings once more and fluttered up upon her desk. She opened it (dreading what was inside) and out fell a little gold locket in the shape of a heart. Hermione's heart plummeted, did a little twirl, and then sat back down again in her stomach feeling twice its size. She glanced over at Zabini who was completely ignoring her, and then opened the locket to have an enormous swell of powder burst back into her face. She blinked, sneezed, and then her vision went pink and suddenly Zabini was before her looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"Zabini!" She cried in delight, ignoring the teacher who was annoyed with the interruption, and flung her arms around his neck, momentarily throttling him.

Little did she know she'd just been put under a love spell.

…

Draco walked past the library and then did a double take, going back to look and seeing Granger of all people, and Blaise locked in a passionate embrace. He scratched the side of his nose and mused for a moment, and then changed direction to go find Potter and Weasel; figuring that if he involved them in this bizarre turn of events that they might at least make it funnier to him.

He knocked rudely upon The Fat Lady's stomach, (he knew where the portrait hole was because Sirius Black had slashed her canvas a few years back, yet had failed to _kill_ Potter, what a shame) ignoring her demands for a password and sneered at the person unfortunate enough to open the portal. It was the little Weasley, the one he didn't know the name of but had nearly been killed a few years back, and the one he instantly hated because she greeted him with a look as poignant as the one he was giving her.

"What do you want Malfoy?" She demanded, surprised in the very least to see him standing before her when her brother was within calling distance, and keen to smash the git before her.

"Is Weasel- er, your brother. Is he about?" Draco demanded, keeping the snooty tone at a bearable level. She looked down her nose at him. _Him_ of all people!

"What do you want him for?" She asked. Draco could have screamed; instead, he smoothed out his features and merely scowled.

"I thought he and Potter would be interested to know that the Mud- Granger is in the library snogging Blaise Zabini." He spun on his heel and walked off, smothering a snort of laughter when the two people he'd just inquired after stumbled out the portrait hole and sprinted past him in the direction he'd hoped. This was going to be very amusing.

…

Hermione was wrenched away from the center of her pink little cloud as two bubbles of agitated mass intruded upon the perfect little scene. She titled her head to study them but her attention was drawn back to beautiful _Blaise Zabini_ and she lost herself in the study of the light hitting the side of his face, and would have reached out to touch him if her arm hadn't been roughly grabbed. She found herself attached to a table by something she couldn't figured out… a sticking charm? And the next thing she knew the pink was seeping away from her gaze and she sneezed again; only to have it vanish completely. It took a few seconds for what had just happened to sink in.

"How dare you?" She yelled at Zabini; her fingers flying to her neck where the locket rested. Hermione wrenched it off and dropped it before him, and then reached for her wand and was about to curse him when-

"What is going on here?" A certain Professor Snape demanded, noticing Hermione's wand out, pointed at Zabini, and scowled at the unfortunate trio, for Ron and Harry had arrived and snapped Hermione out of the love spell. "Ten points from Gryffindor."

"But that's not fair!" Ron protested, only to be silence by a single look from the Potion's Professor. He scowled as the man walked off, and then turned to glare at Zabini. "If you touch her again, or curse her, or look at her… I'll curse you into a pile of jelly!"

"Jelly? What curse would turn me into jelly?" Zabini asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry resisted the urge to take a swing at him and moved swiftly to prevent Ron from doing so, and pulled him and Hermione away only to collide with Malfoy.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" Harry demanded; narrowing his eyes in suspicion at the blonde boy before him. Malfoy tried his best to look innocent but failed horribly, and looked past them down the corridor.

"Is that? It is! Tata!" He grabbed Zabini by the scruff of the neck and took off, leaving the three to gape after him. Hermione rubbed her eyes as the humiliation sank in and bent down to retrieve the locket she'd torn off.

"Careful with that!" Harry warned, but she shook her head.

"It's just a gold locket. Look," she opened it and nothing came out, and she pocketed it. "Argh, I'm going to the infirmary. Bye."

As she walked off Ron turned to Harry with a confused look in his eye, "why did she keep that locket?"

…

Draco sat back at his desk that night and illuminated his journal with the tip of his wand as he poised his quill to write. Around him the other boys in his dormitory lay snoring and he tried to think of something to write and Hermione's face drifted into his mind.

…_love spell went awry today after I let Potter and Weasel in on it. Granger snapped out of it quite livid. Fun gone out of competing with Blaise; ever since he was told never to go near Granger again he's been morose. Don't know why but the little Mudblood still interests me._

With this little confession noted down Draco pulled out a sheaf of parchment and called softly to his owl to wake up, ignoring the nip the little bugger took and his fingers, and began to write a short, to-the-point letter.

_Granger,_

_You are attracted to me; this I've gathered. Kindly stop making eyes at me across the Great Hall at mealtimes. _

_D.M_

With a smirk Draco sealed it with wax and gave it to his owl to deliver; knowing that Granger would be livid and his plan would be put into effect. He had put the idea in her mind with the note he was now sending, so over time she would be drawn to him. It was a matter of patience.

-

Hermione awoke to the sound of an owl banging away at her window and let it in with a sleepy yawn. She was soon woken up when it bit her hard on the finger, and as she sucked at the blood it hopped onto her pillow and tore away at the pillowcase, obviously waiting for an answer. She read it quickly and almost choked on her own tongue. Malfoy's handwriting gleamed at her off the page and she hurriedly pulled a sheaf of parchment from her own desk and quickly scribbled a reply.

_Malfoy,_

_You are delusional; this I've gathered. Kindly stop sending me absurd letters in the middle of the night._

_H.G_

_P.S.: You owl bit me! Teach it some manners!_

…

The next morning Draco almost fell over the form of Blaise slumped at the bottom of the stairs. With Granger's letter in his hands he hadn't noticed the boy and bit his lip to prevent cursing over the new pain in his big toe, and hobbled over to a chair before he addressed him.

"Why are you at the bottom of the staircase Blaise?" He asked candidly, holding the letter loosely in his right hand. The dark-haired boy gave him a morose look and then hauled himself over to the chair opposite Draco before leaning forward with the air of a conspirator.

"I think I'm in love." He informed him in a breathless tone. "I can't eat, I can't sleep; well, I can, but that's beside the point. Have you _seen _Ginny Weasley lately?"

Draco racked his brain for an image to go with the name but failed miserably until he remembered Weasel's kid sister standing in the portrait hole the other day. He hated Ginny Weasley!

"You like Ginny Weasley." It was a statement, not a question. Blaise nodded seriously and then a dreamy cast overtook his eyes.

"Her hair, oh her hair is like red-gold. She's like a painting by Michael Angelo!"

Draco rolled his eyes skyward and unconsciously crumpled Hermione's letter. "You like that description don't you?" He tried to say without sounding exasperated. Blaise gave him a blank look. Draco gave up.

…

Hermione stood before the mirror and studied the gold locket about her neck and sighed. Malfoy's letter floated into her mind and she tried to dismiss it, but was he right? She had been staring at the table a lot, but perhaps she'd been glancing at him as well as Zabini. Ron had even commented that she'd been staring at Malfoy as well.

She liked Zabini's locket though.

The bathroom door opened and Lavender grinned brightly at her. "That's a pretty locket. Wasn't that the one Zabini gave you?" That did it.

"Actually, I was just thinking how much I hated it; here." She tore it off and dropped the jewellery in her dormitory mate's palm, and left the bathroom. Zabini was out of the question.

But Malfoy… hmm… Draco… Draco Malfoy… hmm…

…

"Hello Granger." Draco smirked as she rounded a corner of the library later on that afternoon. She didn't look surprised to see him, and instead fixed him with a smirk equal to his own.

"Hello Malfoy." She recognised the letter in his hand and was about to comment when he cut her off.

"This," he held it up to her, "must be wrong."

"It must?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "How so?"

"Because in this," he shook the letter so she'd take even more notice, "says I'm delusional."

"But you are." Hermione pointed out. "You think I like you."

"And you do." Draco put the letter in her hand and a peculiar look crossed over his face. "Hermione." He said her name like it was a chocolate he was tasting; slightly unnerving to her but nice too… somehow. She wasn't sure whether to run away from him or to continue the conversation. In the end he made up her mind for her, and wandered off.

…

Draco found himself writing in his journal again later on that night.

…_gave her back her letter. Don't know what I was thinking, because I was civil to her and uttered her name for the first time I can remember. Am I losing my mind? I think I must be, because I keep thinking she is not someone I can even consider liking, yet somehow I seem to be. I don't like this._

Meanwhile Hermione was also scribbling in her diary.

…_pasted in the letter I wrote to Draco and he returned to me. I don't know what is going on here but I seem to like the person I hate the most. How can you hate someone yet love (and I use the term love here loosely) them at the same time?_

Draco almost shut his journal but added a few more lines.

…_I feel as though I have accomplished something when I manage to have an entire conversation with her, without either of us uttering a derogatory term. Does this mean I am confusing satisfaction over that, with something like 'liking' someone?_

_Actually, scratch that; it's absurd._

Hermione looked out the window before adding closing remarks.

…_but then again he told me to stop staring at him so he must not feel the same. So why am I giving the impossible any thought?_

…

Potions class began with the usual dramatic entrance of Professor Snape, and somehow Hermione found herself paired with Crabbe of all people.

**A/N: **_I'll add more later. Good things take time!_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_If you'd like I could write an entire scene in terrible slow motion, if the beginning of the before seemed a little rushed. I'll try it now (but will not pull away from the story itself) so be prepared to witness the most excrutiatingly drawn-out class in Potions ever. Well, it might not actually be that bad, it depends if it actually ends up going anywhere or not._

Potions class began with the usual dramatic entrance of Professor Snape, and somehow Hermione found herself paired with Crabbe, of all people. She leant her hand on her upturned palm and tried not to cry any tears of frustration for he was scratching at the underside of his desk (not even paying attention to Professor Snape) and was tasting whatever he'd found down there.

"Now, by the end of this lesson I want you to all have completed a _Hair Lengthening_ _Potion_. This potion extends one's hair length by approximately seven feet so do not, and I repeat _do not_ overestimate the amount of ingredients needed. You may begin." Professor Snape flicked his hair back over his shoulder as he leant over his desk to commence marking on some second-years' work, and Hermione took a deep breath and turned to address Crabbe.

"So, do you want to use your cauldron or mine?"

"Eh?" He turned to her as he scratched at a pimple on his chin and she tried not to shudder at the sight of his speckled face. All around them the rest of the class were beginning to make their potions.

"I'm going to go get the ingredients. Can you get the cauldron?" Hermione asked him. He blinked at her.

"Get the cauldron Crabbe!" A voice to her left interjected. Hermione jumped as she turned face to face with Malfoy and fixed him with a dirty look.

"Thanks terribly much for repeating what I said." She managed sarcastically as Crabbe went off to follow out his orders. Malfoy smirked and cocked his head as he studied her.

"Awful bad luck there, getting paired with Crabbe. _I_ wouldn't want to do potion work with him." His tone was almost but not quite civil. Hermione doubted he'd ever addressed anyone as an equal.

"Well you're with Pansy." Hermione spat back. His upper lip curled but after a moment she realised it was Pansy causing this and not her.

"Draco! I thought you were getting ingredients!" The girl in question hollered from across the room. Malfoy scowled and wandered off, not noticing Hermione had followed until she spoke up.

"Why did you send me those flowers?" She asked mistrustfully, waiting until he'd got half a pound of lacewings before she began to collect hers. "It's not like you'll get to Harry through me."

"Potter! What would I want to know about old scar-face?" He seemed genuinely horrified.

"Oh come on, why else would you try and, ugh, get me to like you?" She demanded.

"So you admit it!" He cried triumphantly.

"I didn't admit anything!"

"So you're keeping it 'secret'. Sure, okay, it's totally working Granger." Draco mocked her.

"Is Ferret irritating you Hermione?" Harry piped up as he came up with a little silver tray, ready to load lacewings onto. The white-haired boy scowled at him and moved forward to pick up a bat wing, but before he could, Hermione turned to address him.

"Thanks for sorting Crabbe out _Draco_." She smiled brightly. It had the intended effect and Harry's mouth almost hit the floor (and so did Malfoy's but he didn't let it show).

"What?" Malfoy demanded, rather stupidly, instead.

"Thanks." Hermione repeated, and then she quickly grabbed the rest of ingredients needed and walked back to her and Crabbe's desk, where the boy was kicking his charred cauldron.

-

Potter and Draco exchanged a look of surprise as Hermione walked off, only to come to their senses and glare at each other before Draco grabbed his ingredients and walked off stiffly.

Granger was across the room, oblivious, as he began to chuck ingredients randomly into the cauldron between shrieks of "Draco we're meant to put them in order" and "Draco is it meant to be that colour?" from Pansy. It was all Granger's fault of course; for smiling at him in that inane fashion only to elicit a bizarre response like this… he stopped when he realised he'd run out of ingredients.

"Oh shit." He muttered as Professor Snape wandered over to see the origin of this smoking cauldron.

"What's this?" The domineering man inquired coolly as he prodded at the mess with his wand, "did you even follow the instructions I set out for you to follow?" He demanded.

"Uh… yes." Draco conceded. He immediately regretted lying afterwards when he was forced to drink a portion of the potion under supervision from Snape.

-

Hermione was mildly worried when she noticed the smoky pink haze rising from Malfoy's cauldron, but that worry increased tenfold when she realised he was about to drink it.

"Professor don't you agree that drinking that is incredibly dangerous?" She called out as she shoved her way through her classmates to the front of the small crowd. Not only was she finding it strange that he was punishing a fellow Slytherin this way, but that this Slytherin was Draco Malfoy, the son of Snape's friend Lucius Malfoy. Snape gave her a look that could kill and rolled his eyes Malfoy's way.

"I think we can all agree that _I_ am the Professor of this class and therefore know better. Ten points from Gryffindor. Now drink up Malfoy." He narrowed his eyes the blonde boy's way and watched him gulp down the potion. Draco remained unchanged for a moment and then suddenly went green and clapped both hands over his mouth before bolting out the room. "This should be a lesson for you all to _follow_ instructions." Professor Snape informed the class, and then hissed for them to resume their own work. Meanwhile, a worried Hermione lingered by her desk as Crabbe chopped up dragon liver.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" She wondered aloud to the indifferent Crabbe, who had managed to squirt himself in the eye with some blood. "I mean, he looked really sick and no one went with him to the infirmary…"

"If you are so worried I suggest you do that task yourself." A voice informed her coldly to her side. She turned to see a certain Professor fixing her with a steely glare and murmured something and grabbed her satchel to follow Malfoy.

-

Draco threw up into the basin in the boy's lavatory and almost retched again at the sight of purple butterflies picking themselves up and fluttering about his head. He had no idea how this had happened, but drinking that potion seemed to have made him into a human cocoon for caterpillars. He saw another one on the windowsill and was unable to control the sudden urge to swallow it. He heard someone calling his name.

"Malfoy!" Granger tried again, and he tried to sneak up on her but then another butterfly sprung forth from his mouth and the resulting gasp alerted her to his presence.

"Granger," he greeted, and then spotted another caterpillar. She followed this action with wide eyes and then latched onto his sleeve; dragging him towards the infirmary.

"Don't even try and explain." She muttered matter-of-factly as another butterfly sprung from his lips. He managed to let her drag him about two hundred meters before spotting the next meal, and before she knew she was upon the floor as he dashed off. "Malfoy! Get back here!" Granger yelled after him. It was no use.

-

Later that night after Malfoy had received an antidote, Hermione sat with her diary open once more; quill poised to write.

…_after seeing someone vomit butterflies it is normally enough to quell any crush one has on them. However, this is not the case with me. I found myself worried, actually worried about Ferret, and even left Potions to make sure he was okay! I don't know why I even bothered; he was so much trouble to deal with…_

Meanwhile, Draco was also writing an entry.

…_Granger came after me today when I had my little episode in Potions caused entirely by her anyway! So fair enough that she should worry about me, and come after me, and spend half an hour getting me to the infirmary… I got the impression she was thoroughly fed up with me afterwards, so I didn't chase it up, but the yearly Ball is approaching and I was thinking of inviting her. How could she resist me?_

-

The next day at breakfast, Hermione found herself confronted by a very smug, blonde Slytherin proffering a single rose and an elaborate card. She was afraid to accept it.

"Well don't look at me as though I'm going to murder you. It's not like I'd want to do it in public." Malfoy joked as soon as he saw her face; unfortunately she took him seriously.

"What… is this?" She managed. He acted out a dramatic double take and dropped everything in his hands, staring at the arrangement it made at his feet.

"What's what?" He demanded, kicking it behind him not-so-subtly. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"You were about to give me a rose and a card." She accused. Malfoy glared at her in mock-outrage.

"I was doing nothing of the sort!" He noticed they had gathered a crowd; among it, Harry and Ron. "I told you! Stop throwing yourself at me, I'm not so inclined!" And with this, he stormed off; scooping up the rose and card as he went.

"What was Ferret talking about?" Ron demanded as soon as everyone else dissipated. Hermione spun to face him with her hair going in every direction and fought the urge to tear it out.

"Boys are morons!" She informed him brusquely. "Never, ever become one!" With which, she also stormed off. Harry took one look at his best friend and sighed, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"You're going about this the wrong way Ron. You have to let her know you're interested in a way other than friendship." He said helpfully. Ron gave him a bewildered look,

"What in bloody blazes did she mean by 'never become a boy'?"

-

Draco paused outside the doors of the Great Hall to contemplate his situation. He wasn't too upset about the blatant refusal by Hermione to even _accept _the rose and card, but now he had to find out a different way to invite her to the Ball. He got this second chance a mere minute later as she stormed out the hall as well.

"Granger!" He called out, smugness returned at the sight of her appearing so soon. She spun around and fixed him with a steely glare.

"Don't even try and talk to me Malfoy, I'm annoyed enough already."

"Why's that?" He asked candidly. She gaped at him.

"You! You and the fact you're such a bloody git!"

"Oh that is rich coming from you."

"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"

"I thought you were smart." He mocked openly. Granger swatted him angrily and he clutched at his chest, pretending to be wounded. "You're the one who followed me." He added.

"No I didn't!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must not have just walked out the Great Hall." With which he kicked the elaborately carved door. She scowled at him.

"I left also because I was not in the mood for people being stupid! You are driving me insane! Why are you so interested in me?"

"Why not?" He shot back. She bit back the reply she'd had prepared and blinked at him.

"What?"

"Why not? Why can't I be interested in you?" Draco demanded, fingering the rose and card in his hand. He subtly tucked the card in his pocket (it was, after all, sarcastic as hell) and proffered the flower; she accepted it. "Do you have a date to the upcoming Ball?" He asked her.

"No." Granger seemed confused, perhaps totally missing the fact that he was about to invite her himself.

"Would you like to go as my date?" He spelt out simply. She blinked at him and before she could stop them, the words spilled out.

"I'd love to."

-

"I'd love to? _I'd love to_?" Hermione ranted furiously under her breath that night as she paced across the floor in her dorm and squeezed her eyes shut. Accepting an offer like that was fine, well, not really but she'd deal with that later, but to say _I'd love to_? That was patriotic suicide in Gryffindor!

Draco Malfoy was not 'I'd love to' material. He was a poncy, sarcastic, rich git.

Hermione sat down on her bed and sighed. She'd done all her homework half an hour earlier, but she couldn't go down into the common room because she'd been avoiding Harry and Ron like the plague the entire day. What would they say when she told them that she was going to the Ball with Malfoy?

She could always cancel.

No. No she couldn't cancel because she wanted to go. Hermione tugged unconsciously at her hair and stared into space; getting a huge fright when Ginny burst into the room.

"What on earth are you doing up here Hermione?" The young girl demanded as she caught sight of the strewn out (closed) textbooks and lack of quill in sight. Hermione bit her lip and found the carpet incredibly interesting.

"I didn't feel like going downstairs." She came up with. Ginny snorted.

"I know, it's embarrassing how obvious he's being isn't it?"

Hermione started and looked at Ginny sharply. Surely no one else knew how Malfoy had been pursuing her? "Who?" Was all she said though.

"Ron of course. He goes red each time you come near- oh no, you didn't realise! Oh god I've put my foot in it now!" Ginny clasped her hand over her mouth but soon broke down into laughter at the sight of Hermione's face. "You have to admit it's funny though, right?"

"Ron likes me? Oh god, what is wrong with the world!" Hermione complained; burying her face in her pillowcase.

-

"So how's little Weasley?" Draco asked conversationally as he jumped in a seat next to Blaise. The dark-haired boy sighed.

"I think I might be gay." He announced, openly to the entire room. Thankfully no one noticed but Draco made sure he shifted a bit further away.

"How do you gather this Blaise?" He asked, fighting to keep a straight face.

"I don't know. These are the years of experimentation though, aren't they? How do I know if I don't try it?" And with that he turned to smile hopefully at Draco.

"No! I am not going to kiss you Blaise!" Draco cried adamantly. He made a huge show of shifting one seat away and his friend sighed again.

"You're right, I'm not really gay. Maybe I just have no luck with women."

Draco stared at the love-bite on the boy's neck and sighed; at least Blaise never changed. "So how's the pursuing of little Weasley going?"

"Ginny? I never said I liked her." Blaise waved the question aside. "But I was watching Hermione in class the other day and she's still quite pretty. I think I haven't gotten over her yet."

"No." Draco headed him off. "I'm going to the Ball with her. You can't have her."

"You _stole_ her from me?" Blaise exploded, leaping theatrically from his sofa. "What kind of friend are you?"

"You said you were over her!"

"I could have been putting on a brave face!"

"You said you liked little Weasley!"

"Who is- oh, no I didn't!"

"You thought you were gay!"

"Oh, so we're playing that card are we?"

"You have a love-bite on your neck from some total random!"

"It's allergies!"

Draco let the matter drop and watched Blaise regain his poise in a matter of seconds, then drop into a chair. "So, you're fine with me taking her to the Ball?"

"Who?" Blaise demanded.

"Granger."

"Since when did you have to ask my permission?" Blaise shot back. Draco gave up.

-

_Granger,_

_Tell me, what colour dress robe are you planning to wear to the Ball? I can only imagine you telling me they're orange, and then when I show up to escort you in my beautiful matching robes, you're wearing pink. _

_Do not make me wear pink Granger._

_In fact, don't wear orange, pink, red, purple, brown…_

_Actually the only colour I suit is black, or perhaps blue. _

_Why don't you wear blue?_

_There's a trip to Hogsmede soon so would you like to go dress robe shopping with me? There is a very talented tailor in the North end of town. _

_D.M_

_Malfoy,_

_I was actually planning on wearing blue to begin with, but now I have an inexplicable urge to wear a multi coloured robe with perhaps, the colours: orange, pink, red, purple, brown and black._

_You don't mind matching, do you?_

_I bought dress robes in the holidays._

_H.G_

_Granger,_

_You don't seriously think that I am going to even consider matching that absurd costume, do you? And what are these dress robes like? Are they blue?_

_D.M_

_Malfoy,_

_They are blue, and they are fine, and would you like to order me how to wear my hair and what kind of jewellery to put on?_

_H.G_

_Granger,_

_I'm glad you asked that. I think you'd suit it up in a coiffed style, with pearl-drop earrings._

_D.M_

_Malfoy,_

_You arrogant git! I was being sarcastic! My robes are pink and I'm wearing my hair in a bun. Stop fussing so much about a Ball that is a month away!_

_H.G_

-

The next day was Care of Magical Creatures class with Gryffindors and Slytherins. Hermione waited out in the chilly morning air with Harry and Ron, trying to ignore the fact the latter's face was bright red and he seemed unable to look in her general direction.

"How are you today Ron?" Hermione asked him, rolling her eyes at Harry when their best friend visibly panicked.

"Me? Oh, oh I'm, uh, bloody brilliant." He managed, throwing a look of torment Harry's direction. "Harry! Remember that thing I had to talk to you about? Now's a great time." And with that he dragged Harry aside.

A certain blonde Slytherin wandered over at this opportunity and gazed after the pair of friends as Ron began an animated conversation. "What are they up to?" He muttered to Hermione, scowling. She tried to summon up some retort, but failed and realised she didn't mind his coming over to talk to her at all.

"Oh, I found out yesterday that Ron likes me." She answered in a blasé tone. Malfoy flushed pink (but with his pale colouring, this merely meant he achieved an everyday skin tone) and Hermione stifled a laugh. "What? Are you upset over finding this out?"

"Not at all." He disagreed. "You're not interested in him too are you?" He hurriedly followed up with.

"What? Of course not!" Hermione burst out, regretting it when a grin spread across the boy's face. "And that doesn't mean I'm interested in you."

"Yes it does. Everyone loves me."

"Harry and Ron hate you."

"Females! Females I'm talking about!" Malfoy ranted. Hermione's best friends wandered back over and looked Malfoy up and down.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry demanded, narrowing his eyes. Draco rolled his eyes and spun to face Hermione.

"So you already have your dress robes for the Ball? That's fantastic; I'll make sure we match when we both go in together." And then he dashed off. Hermione inwardly wished to disappear but no hole in the ground opened up; she opened her eyes to see two boyish faces gaping at her.

"He was just being a git, wasn't he?" Ron whimpered. Hermione bit her lip and shook her head.

"We're going to the Ball together. It's a long story… we've been getting on a bit better lately."

"You're just being a git, you know that!" Ron exploded, and stalked off. Harry stayed behind a moment and shook his head at her,

"What are you doing Hermione? He's probably just using you." Then also left. Hermione watched him go,

"I'm not dating him! I'm only going to the Ball with him!"

-

Draco joined a group of huddled Slytherins as they waited for Hagrid to bring out the new beast they were to study and threw a glance back at Granger to see her standing alone; the two idiots she was friends with by another group of people. She seemed a bit forlorn but he dismissed it as something near him emitted a piercing shriek.

"This 'er is a Hackney." Hagrid announced, proffering a bundle of fluff on his hand about the size of a basketball, to the entire class. Seamus was stupid enough to reach out to it, and almost got his fingers bitten off as it erupted into a mass of teeth, claws and reptilian scales. "Who 'ere can tell me 'nything about it?" Hagrid called out. Sure enough, Draco saw a familiar bushy mane of hair move to the front of the group and stick up a hand.

"A Hackney is a creature normally found in marshes which thrives on the blood of goats and sheep. It's young resemble kittens but if you pick one up… it'll bite your head off, or your hand, it depends how fast your reflexes are." Granger recited as if she was holding the textbook in her hand. Draco rolled his eyes as Hagrid rewarded her with house points and shoved through the people in front of him to study the creature a bit better. It had reverted into the ball of fluff and the oaf Hagrid held it out to him.

"If ye sing ter it, it slows down a bit an' yer can see what it's really like." He explained helpfully. Draco eyed the little monster mistrustfully and eventually accepted it to be dropped into his outstretched palms.

"What song should I sing?" He asked stupidly as he looked down at the Hackney. Granger materialised beside him and narrowed her eyes as she stared at the creature,

"I'll sing something," she thought for a moment, "_first I was afraid, I was petrified…_" there was a collective groan from the class as the song was recognised by the Muggle population, but those such as Draco simply gaped at the sound coming out of her mouth as the Hackney unfolded.

The fluff turned out to be yellowish wings and within them was a snake-like creature with a ridiculously large set of teeth and claws. It blinked its large purple eyes at him and with a sigh, Draco fainted.

-

Hermione quickly grabbed the Hackney before it toppled out of Malfoy's hands and swore loudly as it bit her on the finger.

"Whoops! Forgot ter warn ye about the hypnotic, er, gaze that the little bugger has." Hagrid apologised to the class before grabbing Malfoy by the scruff of the neck and hauling his limp body out of the way into his little hut. Hermione followed him along with Ron and Harry, and the three watched the blonde Slytherin for a few moments until he drowsily awoke.

"Wha-what on earth just happened?" He began shouting as soon as he came to, and Hagrid was forced to pin him down with his index finger until he woke up properly and calmed down. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and he flushed that odd blush of his again. "That little monster put me to sleep!" He exploded at her.

"It has a hypnotic gaze." Hermione explained, fighting the urge to laugh. Malfoy looked as though he'd eaten a sour grape and gave Harry and Ron a filthy look.

"How long was I out for?" He demanded.

"Only about, er, five or so minutes." Hagrid informed him, and then hauled him upright again before propelling them towards the door. "Yer wouldn't want to be late for your next class now, would yer?" He muttered, and they left with a quick goodbye; well, Malfoy didn't but that could be excused.

Hermione found herself walking next to him as they headed back up to the castle, for Harry and Ron were being silly and muttering something amongst themselves. She tugged at her hair and sighed, immediately drawing his attention to her.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, Ron and Harry are being a bit stupid about the me going to the Ball with you." She complained, casting a look towards the two in question. Malfoy snorted and ran his hand through his hair.

"That's because they're gits. Now, what's your next class?"

"Muggle Studies."

"Oh, well watch out for Blaise." Malfoy informed her, and as they paused at the front doors with Harry and Ron behind them, he cast them an unreadable look and when the moment was perfect, pulled her close to him for a kiss.

It was safe to say she was caught completely off-guard, and when it was over he'd walked off without a word, leaving her to stare after him with a very pink face; Harry and Ron frozen in their footsteps behind her.

**A/N: **_If you say it's moving slowly, remember there are people who are sticklers for keeping characters how they're meant to be etc. Thanks for reviews, I think you guys are awesome! _


End file.
